The Channeler, The Conduit
by KrimzonGuard Bites BaronP
Summary: I could have done it, I was so close. I had the Beast right where I wanted him.. Then, Something happened, something I don't think he even planned for. Wherever the hell I am, I have to find the RFI, and John. inFAMOUS/JnD xover. AU. JakxOC
1. A false End

A random Idea I had while imagining Sake as a Conduit. Then it occured to me, a crossover between Jak and Infamous would kick so much ass. If it hasn't been done, well it has now. Sake is my OC from my very old fanfictions "What If"(complete) and "May It Be"(incomplete). I know I have alot of stories going atm but i'm going to rewrite MEHALO:Evolution because I hate how its turning out.

Either way, Please RnR, and most of all, Enjoy! Chances are there's typos because I spellcheck manually in wordpad. If a word is spelled incorrectly its likely because I dont' know how to spell it and forgot to google it whilst spellchecking :p

* * *

><p>Zeke stared on in horror as the realisation settled heavily on his shoulders. This was the last time he'd ever see Cole- Alive, that is. The RFI? It wasn't only going to cure the plague and kill the beast, but it was going to effectivaly eliminate any living conduit, activated or not. Maybe if someone was far underground, or too far away to feel its effects, they might survive but there wasn't a remote chance that Cole would be that lucky, considering he'd be at the dead center of Ground Zero.<p>

"As soon as the RFI's ready, I'm gunna' flip the switch.. There's not going to be a time for goodbye's." Cole said matter-a-factly, a look of sadness yet calm determination in his eyes. He offered a hand to shake but Zeke closed the gap for a hug. Each patted the other's back as if to say the words neither wanted to say then parted and Zeke fought to calm his nerves. Damn if it didn't upset him to think that Cole would be dead in just a few short minutes. Nix watched quietly- it seemed she had accepted her fate as well.

"Alright fellas... I'll take this 'round.. Get it charged up." The swamp witch said quietly, stepping foward and gently gripping the RFI in both hands as she pulled it from its mount on the transformer. "Watch my back Demon."

"I always do." Cole took a deep breath and watched as Nix, once cause of chaos now savior to humanity leapt from the cathedral's belfry. She held the RFI tightly and only the sound of crackling embers heralded her leap into nothing. Then just as quickly Cole hurled himself up onto the stone railing and with a final glance back at Zeke as if to affirm their unspoken creed, he jumped and glided off into the evening to die.

"Twice as bright.." Zeke mouthed sadly, watching his brother vanish in the distance. Now it was a matter of waiting for the call. Minutes later loud explosions began echoing across the bay.

LaRoche was dead but that wasn't about to stop Cole. Nix was quick enough to flee as well and together the pair fled, Cole leaping from boat to boat while Nix flitted each step of the way to make sure Cole didn't meet a watery end. Once on dry land she made a dash for the transformer in Smut Triangle. It was their last hope and the Beast was clearing ground quicker than they had hoped. Water did little to impede the thing's movement and the salvos of rockets seemed like nothing more than mosquito bites to it.

Cole joined Nix minutes later next to the transformer and she had already attatched it to the prongs along its front face. He knew it wouldn't be long before the Beast rejoined them and his body felt that much more energized by the anticipation. Electricity crackled around his arms and chest as the transformer charged him. He heard Zeke cough over the radio and it made him bite his lip- He had to do this, for the millions that would die in the coming days if he didn't, including Zeke.

"How you wanna play it?" Nix asked, doing her best to focus on keeping a barrier around herself and the transformer.

"You're on defense- Protect the RFI." he glanced at the horizon, the creature's massive head just now peeking over the edges of the buildings. "I'm going toe to toe with John." it felt funny refering to this thing as such but deep down he still knew it was him. He just couldn't accept what John was doing.

"Y-You sure?" Nix faltered, swallowing hard.

"Oh hell yeah- I'm ready for round two. It's what I'm here for." Cole almost growled, anger and resentment consuming each syllable.

An explosion rocked the city as more and more rebels and militia fought desperatly. They were relentlessly firing rockets, the barrels of their launchers fatigued and stressed but they wouldn't give up- not today, not ever. Cole stared on as the Beast now towered over buildings and stepped into the open area of the triangle. More rocket fire greeted him and Cole began rapidly firing off electrically charged rockets.

John, the Beast, bellowed a defiant roar and snarled. Cole only snarled back, determined to end it there and now. Then as he began to feel himself weakening from the sudden expense of energy, the Beast raised both arms and flung them to his sides. A burst flung forth from him and quickly suspended everything not tied down in mid-air, including Cole. The feeling of weightlessness while simaltaniously feeling as if he was being crushed was overwhelming and for a moment his head spun.

The Beast joined both hands in a deafening clap, parting them them two car lengths as a black ball formed. Immediatly everything began drifting toward this hole, either exploding or disintigrating upon impact. Cole watched with horror as a woman who had been snatched up by the gravity well was pulled in and consumed from the feet up, all the while screaming in agony. Flesh, muscles, It was all ripped away from her skeleton which quickly dissolved into nothing. In a matter of seconds he'd meet the same end and with all his strength he pushed his hands forward and expelled energy from his palms, thrusters struggling to keep him away from the vortex.

As quickly as it had come, the spiral faded and Cole felt the bonecrushing preasure subside. Still suspended as if he were a marionette, electricity nipped at his skin and he readied himself for another barrage of rockets, firing them with such rapid succession that it didn't take long before he couldn't muster another round. With luck the last few rounds impacted the Beast square in the chest and John crumpled to his knees. The gravity well vanished and Cole was dropped to the ground, spinning in mid air to right himself before landing. As he did so, his phone sparked to life with the voice of Quo.

"Turn around Cole and WALK AWAY." The woman demanded angrily. The electric man thought about what she had done, and what she was planning to do if he didn't succeed. She was willing to sacrifice the lives of billions just so she could continue being superhuman.

He felt his skin become ice cold and his flesh crawled with almost living ice. He pivoted on his toes and fired off a salvo of rockets in the direction from which the pure white arctic beam originated and they impacted a tall pillar of ice, sending it, and Quo, tumbling. She wailed in pain as he relentlessly hammered her with bolts of electricity until she lay still, heaving from the pain. With her delt with, Cole redirected his attention to the recuperating Beast before him, who now stood and raised both arms once more.

The gravity well expanded again, picking up the previously charred corpses of car and man alike, hurling them around like ragdolls. Then as John joined both hands, another spiral formed and Cole struggled to keep himself at a safe distance. The thrusters only did so much. He prayedfor the ball of dark energy to subside-

But the vortex only grew and for a moment he wondered if John was preparing a Ray Field blast. Now its event horizon was far enough across to fit a bus length wise. Two stories below him, Cole watched as Nix grabbed onto the transformer for dear life and everywhere around them buildings were beggining to be ripped apart. Cars spiraled around them, colliding with people in mists of red. To his left, Quo's unconcious body was lifted and sucked in. He squinted and looked away, fearful of watching his once friend become dust.

"I'm being pulled in man, I-I can't hold on!" Nix screamed and desperatly she clung to the transformer. The force of the vortex was too great and in a matter of seconds its bolts were ripped loose from the concrete of the roof. She, the transformer, and the RFI were sucked toward the vortex and Cole cried out in horror. How had the Beast ever gained so much power, he couldn't fathom.

"Something.. Something isn't right..!" John's voice rung loudly in Cole's mind and the words bounced around against his skull. "I.. Can't.. I can't stop it..!"

The vortex grew and grew still, four stories in diameter.

The Beast began to crumble and flake, sections of its rock-like skin being ripped free to reveal the matter beneath.

Cole's arms burned in agony and the thrusters were becoming less and less effective by the second. Things were going dark and all at once his energy left him as the vortex grew closer.

The last things he saw and heard were the Beast's crippled body being torn apart and their own screams in unison.

Then, a wash of white and nothing.


	2. Recovered

Here it is, chapter two of _The Channeler, The Conduit_. Cole's made his landing in the sands of Spargus, but rather unceremoniously. It seems his welcome doesn't go unnoticed either.

Please read, rate, and reply. All feedback is appreciated.

Also you may find typos. I spellcheck manually. Sometimes I forget to check if a word is right because I have dyslexia and spell the way it sounds, or get it confused with the european way. Please do your best to ignore my 'free-thought' form of writing and my unusual use of sentence structure :p

Last but not least, inFAMOUS is property of Sucker Punch Productions Ltd/SCEA and Jak and Daxter is property of Ready At Dawn Games/SCEA. No infringement is intended.

Sake is mine :P (to those of you who've read _What If_ and _May It Be, _the events of this story are not canon to either of those stories nore to Sake's history. this is strictly AU.)

* * *

><p>"...They've really become a bother." An old man, skin paled and speckled with dark and light spots alike, held firmly to a cane while a younger man stood next to him, arms crossed. "The Guards insist on taking control, I'm sure of it." He gave a disdainful frown before looking to the man next to him, then up at the man sitting atop the throne before him.<p>

"What my grandfather is trying to say is.. Is this really the best place for them?" the younger man asked now, gesturing toward the benevelant figure that warmed the stone seat of power.

"Haven City threw your grandfather out for treason, a crime he did not commit. This is Spargus, we've always welcomed outcasts and we will continue to do so, But I will do what I can to send a message to our latest refugees that we will not tolerate their behavior." The leader stood, speaking with authority. Slowly he spanned the gap between him and the elderly long-eared man, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'll personally see to it in an address at the Stadium tom-"

He froze, staring at the flashing red light suspended from the high arched cieling as loud sirens wailed. Then he swivelled and stared out the large glassed wall toward the horizon. The sky had grown dark and angry, palm trees whipping about suddenly in violent winds. Quickly he ran for the throne, smashing a button on its arm-rest before speaking into a device next to it.

"Everyone into your homes immediatly. Drop everything. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." He ordered, voice booming over loud-speakers throughout the sprawling desert oasis. Outside the winds howled and the sky flashed brightly as lighting threatened to tear the city in two. Then he pressed another button, "Alpha, Beta, Gamma scouting parties, report!"

'Alpha green, Sir! Safe and sound!'

'Beta cleared sir, we're all in one piece!'

There was a pause.

"Gamma, Do you read me. This is Jak, I repeat, status report!" Jak stared frantically at the speaker and a look of desperation washed over him.

Then the device flared to life, crackled voices coming through.

'Gam-here-I-ad yo- J-.. We'-re- safe. St-rm-i-rea-lly-bad.' The channel was choppy as hell, every other word consumed by static and distortion. Another bolt of white ripped through the sky. Jak watched as more roared in the distance and the hairs on his neck bristled.

"Just get to safety. Report to me the moment you're safe." He demanded into the communication console, only to be followed by radio silence which he assumed was from the storm. Overhead the alarm screamed still and all at once the room became blindly white as a bolt struck the front of the vast throne room. Glass shattered, falling for a split second before being blown inward at violent speeds as a gust of sand and wind threw Jak from his feet. The supports of the windows had broken and were caught in the zephyr, a fairly large chunk of stone hurdling at Jak before smashing into the back of his head. The collission blurred his vision and with a gasp of pain, crippled to his knees while the grandson struggled to help his grandfather to his feet and flee. Then black creapt up from the corners of his vision.

The sky seemed to come to life as dark clouds spiraled around an invisible vortex, a wash of red, violet and blue emerging from the almost blinding light forming in the center. Then all at once a burst of energy was thrust forward and into the endless sands of the expansive desert. Sand hardened into stone and blackened upon impact and slowly the clouds began to fade.

Cerulean eyes behind goggles watched from a distance as the clouds spat out a ball of light and threw it violently to the sands, tossing earth into the air either to fall or be caught in the wind's relentless gusts. Ebony hair streaked behind her, untamed as wind sailed through it. Once the clouds had birthed their abomination, they calmed and slowed. The wind that threatened to rip trees from their rocky holdings stopped all together and content that it was safe, she removed her goggles and scarf. Then with a signal to two men at either side of her, she slid back down into her seat and turned the keys in her dune-strider, making way toward what would no doubt be a sizable hole in the ground to investigate. The two other drivers followed in their own vehicles.

The show had been visible for miles and she wondered if _he_ had been watching. This far out however, someone else was sure to notice and it didn't take long before the radar equipped to her vehicle pinged five incoming bogies, tracking their progress as they sped toward her squad. With one hand she tapped a communicator strapped to her goggle strap.

"Sig, Jinx, stay loose. We've got company-Marauders. Cover me while I make a break for the impact zone! Do NOT let them get close!"

Immediatly both vehicles darted to the right, vectoring north to greet their new friends. Almost instantly they were met with a hail of gunfire, bullets ricocheting off the plating protecting their vehicles. Sig sat cozy in the seat of his buggy, grinning as a beep indicated a weapons lock. Then he smashed down both triggers and a hail of high calibur rounds sped toward their mark and tore through the sheet metal welded and bolted to the Marauder's frames. The thin metal did little to protect their drivers and the first of the two interruptions veered to the side, rolled then caught aflame as their gas tanks were ignited by the sparks from the gunfire.

Three more sped toward them, the third vehicle in the far back far more imposing than the front two. Atop its body sat a sizable mounted gun upon which stood a helmeted Wastelander.

"Jinx, look out, those are missle launchers. When the hell did they get those?" Sig screamed over his communicator.

"Hell if I know! You flank left, take out the asshole. Your guns have better tracking than mine, I'll deal with the pipsqueaks in the front."

With the coordination of finely trained performers, each man jerked the wheel and split formation, Sig flanking right while enabling his lower calibur mounted gun. With precision it tracked onto the slower missile-laden vehicle and began targetting its largest source of heat- the engine. Jinx meanwhile swerved right, plucking a wad of explosives from his passenger seat before moving to pass to the side of his first target while priming its timed detonator.

Five seconds, four secounds- Bullets peppered his vehicle, and in the last second he swerved left, startling the oncoming driver who served right and in a second's time he hurled the bomb toward the car. It seemed to float gracefully into the cockpit of the other vehicle and Jinx gunned it, wanting to put as much space between him and the half a pound of explosives now cooking inside the Marauder's lap.

The resulting explosion was loud but Jinx didn't care. Instead he smiled and watched his rear view mirror as it lit up with the sizable angry orange and red fireball spewing black smoke into the sky. All that remained was a smouldering crater and debris, which the desert would make short work of until it was gone like it never existed. Jinx revelled in his success, jerking the wheel to his left to rejoin Sig.

Meanwhile the dark skinned Wastelander pulled his wheel to and fro as his tires spat up sand in their desperate attempt to keep traction. Salvo after salvo of rockets peppered the landscape around and behind him and the lower calibur mounted gun was locked and firing rapidly, the barrel becoming red-hot. Each round did little to the massive armored tank-like buggy, but they were gradually chizzling away at its hide. Finally Sig managed to flank to its rear and the cannon had an easier shot at its engine. Gaps in its plating were all his guns needed to make short work of the gas tank as the Red Eco charged rounds reacted with the fuel and sent the lumbering beast up in an incredible fireball. In the distance he watched Jinx gift another marauder with a special delivery.

The third and final Marauder had dodged to follow Jinx, ignoring Sig while he tore away at the now-defunct tank. The man behind the wheel sneered at his target, pulling up behind him to take aim with his own medium calibur guns and when he had a lock, pressed down on his trigger as the barrels spun and sprayed bullets, peppering the backside of Jinx's buggy. Sparks flew from the impact.

"Jinx, he's on your tail!" Sig yelled, barely managing over the roar of his engine.

"I can't shake him, take care of this assholem, will ya!" Jinx had attempted to swerve to break line of fire but it was no use- the Marauder's vehicle was smaller and more nimble, more easily navigating the sand to correct his firing trajectory. Sig gritted his teeth and slammed his foot down onto the accelerator, speeding for Jinx's would-be killer with the goal of meeting him halfway.

"Hey, chilli pepper! Get that toy out tha' desert!" Sig howled, laughing as he watched the Marauder turn and face him, eyes wide open with horror as Sig's far larger buggy sped toward him. In one last cry of desperation the man screamed loudly, blinded by headlights like a deerbull.

The smaller vehicle was immediatly thrown to its side as Sig made contact, catching air as it hurdled end over end. After several flips and revolutions along its body it came to a stop in the sand, the driver bloodied and half-dead as he pried himself from the mangled wreckage. Sig watched from the distance and fuel began to drip from the upside-down buggy. Jinx wheeled around, striking a match on his buggy's frame before rolling by and tossing it into the gas soaked sand and gunning it. Seconds later the third marauder was consumed in flames and likely pulverised by shrapnel.

Besides, even if he wasn't dead, the vulchards would pick the flesh from his very bones.

"They blow up so nicely don't they." Jinx smiled wide.

"Yeah.. Yeah they do.. Kinda pretty, if I say so myself." Sig laughed back with a wide grin.

We better meet back up with the boss lady, Make sure she ain't dead in that crater." Jinx retorted, chewing thoughtfully on the butt of his cigar as he spun around to meet Sig.

The battle waged behind her, and she took comfort in knowing that wouldn't be the case for long. Sig and Jinx were two her most capable drivers, and while Jinx had his whiney moments, he was reliable for the most part. She'd known Sig for years and he'd never done them wrong. Now though, she had other more pressing concerns.

Her vehicle spanned the mile and a half distance between their origin and the site of the impact, pulling up to a dozen or so feet from the edge of what she expected to be there.

Sprawled out infront of her, some one hundred and fifty yards across, was a massive blackened smouldering crater. Electricity danced around the charged ground and it licked at her ankles as she got closer to its edge. Looking further, she observed what looked to be the shape of a human at its center, a man from the looks of it.

Slowly she creapt foward, wincing as more sparks nipped at her legs but for the most part ignoring the minor irritation. Behind her engines roar then came to a stop and two voices called for her from behind. As she got closer, something struck her as peculiar yet familiar about the man that lay still before her. He lacked the long 'elven' ears she and the others posessed, but he was clearly human in design. The shape of his ears hardly bewildered her. Instead of was a sudden reminder of her own origins and the circumstances through which she had arrived in this world- much the way this individual did, she thought.

Sig and Jinx quickly joined her, staring down curiously at the body of the man. Sig was the first to get to one knee, and with two fingers, pushed gently at his throat.

"Got a live one. Pulse is weak and breathing is slow. What do you make of this clothing?" he took a moment to examine the man's attire. He wore a short sleeved white shirt with light grey sleeves, and dark blue pants, right leg splashed with a white pattern that stretched from top to bottom. A bag of some type was wrapped around his chest, greyish white in color with black straps. Rubber and cloth split-toed shoes completed the look, but the obviously once pristine clothing had become tattered and stained, dusted black from the charred earth.

"Hey Uh.. Mrs. Mar.. Lookit' those ears. He's definatly not from around here." Jinx observed, craning forward to get a better look as he reached for his cigar and puffed. Blowing smoke into the wind, he lowered his goggles with his other hand.

"No boys. No he's not. But, I think I know exactly where he came from. Sig, load him up. We're getting back to Spargus and fast. Collect that.. thing too." She said, pointing to the pronged device next to him.

"If you say so. Either way we better bail before more Marauders come looking for their missing men."

"Pbbbt, Haa Not like they'll find anything left of em. The birds'll make sure of that." Jinx grinned before making a grab for the metal device while Sig hefted the unconcious man over his shoulder. Jinx yelped as a vivid blue charge closed the gap between him and the forked device.

"Fuck that stings." He hissed before reaching for it again, more cautiously this time. As he touched the warm metal, nothing happened, then picked it up. "Must've just been statically charged." With that he turned and followed the other two back to their respective vehicles while Sig strapped their find in for safe-keeping as they were still miles out from Spargus.

"Control, this is Scouting group Gamma. Sorry for radio silence." She had climbed back into her own vehicle, engaging the long ranged communicator on her vehicle.

"Good to hear from you ma'am. Jak was worried."

"I figured as much. Anyways inform the King that we'll be returning with something he'll be very interested in. And tell the mechanics and Infirmiry to get ready. Marauders tried to rough us up."

"Rodger that, ma'am. Control, out."

"Sake, Out."

* * *

><p>Please let me know what you think! I plan on updating quickly as i've got it allll laid out in my head :)<p> 


	3. A Terrible Beast

_This chapter was a bitch and half to write. I knew for this chapter that I wanted to introduce the characters to each other in a manner that would reveal their powers, or at least, the presence of special abilities without just being all 'hi im jak and i haz powurz lawl'. I must've rewritten the last two thirds of this chapter four or five times. one even involved Sake asking if Miami had been destroyed, but it wound up with a good third of the story digressing into her backstory and this fic isnt about her. _

_Either way i'm definatly pleased with this version. Hope you enjoy, please RnR :)_

_ I'm still trying to write a decent update for Homefront, and MEHalo(Which will get a new name, and likely a rewrite, to really put Liara's place as the Shadow Broker to use, as well as work in some Details from ME3, like the modified normandy since my Shepard told TIM to take a flying leap. either way stay tuned for those updates._

_Also with stories finally getting 'covers', i'm going to make some cover art for my fanfictions! I'm so happy we can finally put up images!_

* * *

><p>"Sssttttt, Easy, easy- Damnit that hurts." Jak cursed lightly, gritting his teeth as a woman padded a damp cloth against the back of his head, crimson from blood. "It's just a minor cut." He protested, not pleased with the entire ordeal.<p>

"You're lucky it didn't kill you." Sake was sitting infront of him, simaltaniously whiping at several other minor cuts and contusions.

"You of all people should know its not that easy to kill me." The king smiled wide as the nurse behind him placed the bloodied wrag into a pan of water and made her way out of the throne room. Several others were already hard at work sweeping up the glass and sand but replacing the windows would be a few more weeks of work. Jak could only pray they didn't have an issue with sandstorms between now and then.

"Not to worry, I recall." Sake reached a hand up and tapped the side of his face gently, as if to reassure him of some unspoken contract.

"And don't forget, I heal quickly." Cautiously Jak stood, momentarily fighting the sensation of nausea. Head wounds were always the worst and it had bled profusely for the last hour. Before being found by the servants, he recalled slipping in and out of conciousness until someone finally helped him to a seat and called for medical assistance. He explained to Sake at least a dozen times now but, she insisted that he be careful. Feh. He had a city to run and people to protect and mouthes to feed and a strange man in their infirmiry- Oh that's right, the man with short ears. "Sake, you said we had a uh.. guest?"

"Oh, right. Keep quiet about it though. Come, let me show you." Sake took it slow, knowing he might be a little woozy from the injury, but Jak followed alright as they boarded the elevator down to the ground level and then made their way toward the stadium, attatched to which was a fully staffed and stocked medical facility. Hospitals were a rare occurance in the day and age, few people barely trained in medicine and even fewer trained in surgeory. Haven had been home to a few of these talented individuals who fled from the tyranny of the Baron during his rule. Spargus openly welcomed them, happy to feed and shelter the life-saving men and women as long as they agreed to patch up the gladiators and stitch up any of the Wastelanders wounded in desert.

The walk to the stadium was normally a short one but far faster on Leaper. At the bottom of the elevator shaft from the Palace rested a stable of sorts, home Leapers which a few children attended to. There were several mounts inside but only two belonged to the royalty, both adorned with salvaged Precursorian armor which had been shined until it gleamed in the desert sun. Both Jak and Sake donned their steeds and made for the Stadium, taking the freight elevator at the base of the steps into the infirmiry upon arrival.

The elevator, as slow as it was, gave Jak time to reflect. It wasn't often he had the time to think back.

"Spargus has come a long way." He said softly, thumbing the metal pendant that hung around his neck on a leather cord, a symbol of his lineage.

"A lot can happen in ten years. Last I checked, Spargus' population was three times what it was during Damas' time." Sake watched Jak's expression contort to one of unease. "I know you miss him. He would be proud."

"I know, I know. I'll be fine. I think I'll pay him a visit after all this." He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall of the makeshift freight elevator. Oh Mar was this thing slow but it beat walking up a massive flight of stairs.

"Still hard to think that the city has nearly doubled in size as well. I'm beggining to think we might actually be a real city like Haven, instead of an encampment for its refuse." Sake beamed. Indeed Spargus had come a long way from its most humble begginings. Unlike Haven, crime was a word not commonly spoken amongst the people and with a caring leader on its throne, they were content with their quality of living. But the comforts of easy living did little to soften the Wastelanders' prickly demeanors. Instead the harsh environment had only made them stronger and more united as a people.

"Oh also, after this we need to talk about the latest group of refugees." Jak said, breaking Sake's train of thought.

"The Krimzon Guards from Haven?"

"Yeah. They were thrown out, no longer needed. But alot of them think Spargus is something to take for themselves. We've had an issue with alot of them bullying merchants for stock and such." Jak sighed and his mouth curled into a distinct frown. Sake rolled her eyes. The elevator came to a stop, and the double doors slid open revealing a long wide hallway. The smell of sulfur was thick but tolerable.

"Those people were idiots for not electing you into power."

Jak frowned again, contemplating the ground as he rolled the words over in his mind. "They made their choice. Seems the new Baron has made his too. But we've got to do something about the KG." The elevator crawled to a stop before springing on its own support cables. Just as they stepped out, their communicators sprang to life with a flurry of beeps. Jak was the first to answer his.

"You better get down here Your Highness, FAST. We've got a situation!"

* * *

><p>Cole gasped for air, desperate for a breath as he felt the very life being squeezed out of him. The Beast had him in his clutches, massive molten hand putting such a pressure on him that Cole feared his very bones would be pulverised into dust or snap like twigs. He was screaming, he thought but it was hard to tell over the roar in his own head. No matter how much he flailed, throwing everything he had at the massive goliath, nothing phased it. He pounded on the Beast's hand, discharging massive amounts of power with each impact before arching both arms high and summoning a bolt of lightning from the dark orangey-red clouds above.<p>

* * *

><p>Jak and Sake broke into a frantic sprint, half-skidding around two corners before grinding to a halt infront of the narrow doorway that flashed bright blue in uneven strobing pulses. A terrified young Monk was against the far wall of the hallway, nursing bright fresh burn marks on his arm and sobbing loudly.<p>

The frequency and brightness of the light spilling from within was enough to blind and disorient all present, including the two guards that were stationed at that room. Jak turned to the young monk, crouching as another older Monk sprinted up from the opposite end of the hallway. "What happened?" Jak half shouted. The younger Monk was shivering uncontrollably, curled in on him self as he whimpered.

"I was-I was treating a wound when suddenly he started thrashing." His words were broken by fearful sobs as he held onto his forearm. The leather that had wrapped it previously was missing, the edges of what remained burned black and curled. "Then there was a bright flash and I was thrown against the wall! The guards barely managed to drag me out of there before calling you.."

"Get him to safety!" Jak ordered, pointing to the older Monk who quickly worked to heft the younger boy up off the floor and away from danger. "Sake lets get in there and figure out what's going on."

Sake felt a childish fear creeping up her spine, the hairs on the back of her neck bristling as that fear stirred something primal and dangerous. She analyzed Jak's expression and he seemed much the same as he took point and cautiously stepped through the threshhold into the room. Inside, a man fidgeted uncontrollably on the now burned bed and black marks covered much of the room.

Then all around them was a wash of white as electiricity danced. For a moment, time slowed to a crawl and both clamped their hands over their ears in an effort to stifle the booming noise that originated overhead. Outside the window, the skies suddenly turned ominous and a bolt of lightning sliced through the air. It slammed into the roof just above Cole's room before winking out. A deep thunderous rumble faded and all at once everything went quiet.

Jak and Sake stood, bewildered as they watched the man's bare body go limp. Then just as he went still, he jolted up in a loud shriek of pain, eyes open as wide as they could go while he breathed quickly and deeply in shuddered breaths. His body was drenched in sweat.

* * *

><p>It was a nightmare, thank god. Cole swallowed hard then went back to panting, just trying to regain his composure. His throat was dry and it stung like he'd been screaming. He ran his tongue over his lips but it was no more effective at relieving his thirst than a rock. Slowly the world stopped spinning and he was able to level out his breathing. However there was still the unmistakable burn in every muscle like he'd just taken a dip in the Atlantic Ocean and his head was ringing loudly with every little sound. Suddenly there were voices and his head jerked to his right. Bad idea.<p>

Immediatly he dazed and barely caught himself from collapsing forward and sideways. With both hands he rubbed groggily at his face to chase away the bright flashing spots infront of his eyes. They obeyed and his vision cleared. Now he could see a collection of strangers staring at him, their faces filled with confusion, fear, and worst of all- aggression, a deadly mixture. Just as quickly as things came into focus, something metalic was shoved in his face and Cole quickly realized he was staring down the razor sharo blade of a sword. He nearly leapt out of his skin.

"Holy shit-" Cole sputtered, more suprised than terrified. A long eared man with vivid yellow-green hair was staring back at him with eyes as blue as the sky. He was accompanied by a woman with similar ears and an equally aggressive demeanor.

"Your light show nearly killed someone just now." The man with the sword growled. His dusty voice bounced around in Cole's head as he winced and grabbed at his forehead to make the flashing lights stop again.

"Light show-.." Cole dazed once more then took a brief moment to glance around the room. He thought back to his dream and was immediatly mortified. It suddenly explained the pitiful shape of the room and its likely once pristine decore. "Ah shit.."

There was a beep, two in fact. They were almost synchronised, but the beeps came in even cycles. Both the man and the woman reached for pouches at their waist and removed a square metal device. Cole watched curiously as the man flipped his open and spoke first.

"Jak here, What's the problem." Jak's question was met with a hail of static mixed with bits of crackled voices. Finally the noise subsided enough for the speaker's voice to be clear enough to understand.

"Jak, we've got another one of those anomolies from earlier!" It was a man's voice, from what Cole could make out. He was partially shouting over the sounds of gunfire, and engines, if he guessed right.

"Anomilies? You mean a vortex?" The woman said now, into her own device.

"Yes Ma'am. But this one's much closer to Spargas! In fact I think this one's gunna do its thing right inside the city!"

Outside, the skies were churning and began to spiral into a vortex. The very center was as bright as a sun, the light blinding all on the ground while the surrounding clouds were so black that even the night would seem bright. Electricity streaked acrossed the sky, some daring bolts even striking at the massive towers and pillars that dotted Spargas' skyline. Then the vortex gaped and birthed its monstrosity.

The entire city shook as an explosion rocked its very foundation. In the infirmary, the lights flickered as dust and chunks of rock were dislodged from the cieling. A siren began to blare out over the city and all the hair on his body stood on end as his eyes filled with panic.

"The hell was that?" He shouted, half into his communicator and half to the others in the room. Neither Sake nor Jak noticed the stranger behind them throwing himself from the bed and practically diving into his clothes which had been folded neatly on the side table, miraculously unscathed by the miniature electrical storm.

* * *

><p>Cole then threw his bag around his shoulders after slipping his socks and shoes back on. There was another explosion and he nearly toppled over as the ground beneath him trembled. Now the two long eared strangers were leaving the room, staring slack-jawed out of the windows along the outer hallway at the source of the fearful noise. He joined them, implanting himself between the pair as they stared out of the window.<p>

Five city blocks away, smoke rose in violent black plumes, blotting out the sky as orange embers filled the wind. The smoke cleared enough for Cole to see two glistening orange eyes stare back at him through the destruction.

The Beast was here.

"SHIT." He cursed loudly, instinctively making a grab for his Amp. His hand caught air and he stared over his shoulder only to see nothing. "Where is it!" Cole shouted, one arm pinning the woman against the frame beside the window while he raised his other fist to strike. He was instantly met with a fist to his jaw as Jak waylayed him hard from the side. He smacked into the ground and slid.

"Get your Hands Sake, asshole!" Jak snarled and a single spark of violet danced around him.

It was unlikely that anyone else would have seen it, but he did- the little flash of purple, an arc of energy that kissed his skin harmlessly. This man, this complete stranger- He was a conduit. Cole couldn't believe his eyes. He suddenly felt thirsty, he had all along but now it was more apparent. With barely a thought, his mind sent out an invisible orb of energy that expanded. Several sources of power lit up brightly, and when he looked at the strangers, he could see their nervous systems flowing with raw energy. The two people he'd seen before- Jak and Sake were their names, they were different. The flows of life through them were different, and a faint yellow nodule indicated the presence of the Conduit gene, albeit it different from any other Conduit he'd ever encountered. To make matters more interesting, the energry emenating from the woman was even more unusual, pooling mostly around her midsection in a bright cluster.

Cautiously he rose to his feet now, stumbling back a step. Another explosion rocked the building and a crack crawled rapidly down the hall, but nothing gave way. Cole stared in horror out of the window at the Beast as it gathered energy in its hands, then hurled it to the ground. Fire spread and the screams of death carried in the wind.

"I need my Amp, where the hell is it?" Cole bit at the air. The electricity surged through his body and his mouth felt parched. He was anxious for the inevitable- the thrill and the fear of the fight. Most of all, he had to stop the Beast, and keep it from destroying wherever this place was.

"You mean that forked thing we found with you?" Sake asked now. Suddenly the outer wall was blown inward. Rock and metal flew in all directions and when the dust cleared, the two guards that had been in the hall were dead, crimson pooling next to them. One had been impailed while the other's head was smashed against the far wall. Jak, Sake and Cole were all thrown too, hitting the wall before slumping, though each was relatively unharmed.

Jak was the first to his feet, offering a hand to Sake as Cole grunted and pushed a piece of rubble off himself. Then Jak stared into the face of the massive creature assaulting his beautiful city. Gunfire was erupting from the streets, eco charged bullets pelting the creature but doing little more than tickling it. A massive fist broke through the dust, and Jak barely dodged it.

Cole felt himself being lifted and squeezed tightly as the Beast grabbed him. He wailed as John squeezed, threatening to pop him like a balloon. His head throbbed and all at once he raised his arms and brought them with all his force. The skies belched out a massive blue and white spear of light that drilled straight into the Beast. It didn't take much to blow entire chunks of John's head in all directions- Perhaps he was as exhausted from their last encounter as Cole was.

* * *

><p>Jak watched as this man summoned lightning from the sky, the powerful bolt crashing into the attacker and splitting it like a log. Pieces flew this way and that, vanishing into embers before hitting the ground. Then its hand opened, releasing the stranger who was caught by an invisible power. This strange short eared man must've been a Channeler- There was no other way for anyone to harness the power of Eco unless they were one- and he seemed quite adept at wielding the power of motion and energy, Blue Eco, like he was born with it. All around rubble and people were suspended mid air, screaming and desperate for help. He turned to Sake who was as perplexed as he was at the whole ordeal. They shared a nod before unholstering their respective weapons and leaping from the rubble of the infirmiry building, only to be caught by the same indeterminate force.<p>

The stranger was firing away rapidly now, not with a gun but his hands. Bolts of blue flew from his palms, blasting the creature head on as more chunks broke free and dissentigrated. It roared, eyes and mouth aflame as it began to form something in its hands. Jak and Sake felt themselves being pulled toward the thing and barely managed to latch onto the balcony of someone's home, hanging on for dear life. The man however used some sort of electrical thrusters in his hands to keep himself from being pulled into the orb of energy now nestled into the creature's palms. Then the pull ceased and they let go, only to feel the weightlessness take over once more.

* * *

><p>Cole panted. He was running completely dry. His last encounter with the Beast had already managed to push the limits of his powers and now every single part of him burned like fire. If only the powers of Ice he'd been given by Kuo could sooth the burn.<p>

Suddenly, all around began to rumble low and deep, like the very ground the they floated over was breaking apart. John folded his arms over his chest, curling a bit as he hung his head. Then he erupted up and back, arching his head back before screaming into the heavens. A dome of energy expanded from him, consuming a two mile radius of the city before vanishing.

* * *

><p>The world around him smelled like fire and death. There was screaming all around and she could hear structures crumbling near by as the ground shook from the impact. Carefully she opened her eyes and things came into focus.<p>

She rose in a flash, glancing around in the hopes of figuring out exactly what had happened. Fires raged all around, wooden structures nothing but charred embers that smouldered. Burning buildings spewed black smoke and she found herself laying very near the center of a fairly large crater. The two hundred foot tall molten creature was no where in sight. If she had to guess, it was easily ten blocks wide from edge to edge, yet the devastation extended well beyond that.

There were no corpses. Whatever bomb the creature had detonated must have vaporised It, and whatever dead therewould've been. Just a few feet away were the unconcious forms of Jak and the stranger. Both were coming to and she stood, brandishing a lengthy copper toned blade holstered at her back. Taking a battle ready stance, she closed the gap between her and the man, placing the blade to his throat as he came to, flat on his back.

"You seem to know what the fuck's going on- Mind explaining?" She hissed out, vision blurring. She blinked away tears of rage and sadness at the devestation brought down upon Spargas. Her face was twisted into one of pain and unshackled anger. The man raised both hands in defeat before trying to skid away but the blade followed. Jak joined now, gun at the ready. The stranger's eyes darted between them, putting a finger on the edge of the blade before pushing it aside gently.

"I'd be glad to, just.. get that thing out of my face." He grunted and there was a long thick tension between the three of them. The silenced lasted for waht felt like an eternity before Sake made a disapproving sound. Reluctantly, she lowered the blade, resheathing it. Jak was less than willing to reholster his rifle.

"That thing..." the man began, turning away and staring into the dismal sky, "...we call it The Beast."

* * *

><p><em>hope you liked! Please RnR. Comments are greatly appreciated!<em>

_Previous comment replies:_

_ MIcheal Shwartz: This is actually a great idea. I'm definatly working this in._

_ alaxbird: Have no intentions to do so! Hope you'll keep reading._

_ MaDmAN12435: Ask and ye shall recieve :)_


	4. A Haven for Disaster

**A/N: Chapter 4's a shortie, but i needed some transition stuff to help further along the plot. I'm not gunna lie. Right now I don't have much but as I write, its starting to cook up rather nicely. But I do have a general idea where this story is gunna go. In the meantime, enjoy this chapter! Next up is an update for What if: Redux! Also I intend to do some doodles of the armor/guards dipicted in this chapter :3 be sure to watch my DA for those!**

* * *

><p>"Hey Dizz, wake up over there."<p>

The woman in question, Dizz, snapped awake and grunted, waving a gloved hand before adjusting her goggles. Suddenly a fist nailed her in the shoulder and she nearly fell out of her chair.

"What's the big idea, Gald?" She stared intently at his masked face, features obscured by a masked helmet with crimson red lenses over the eyes. All over he wore plates of silver armor with red markings. The markings on her armor were white.

"Sleeping on the job again? Wont catch any crims' with your eyes shut. Oh- and its _Commander_ Gald to you, Lieutenant." Gald said in a mock serious tone, but the sarcasm and joking nature was obvious.

"We're in the Old Palace district- No one commits crimes here." She retorted, voice filtered by her own mask. Aside from her voice, it was fairly difficult to tell who was male or female. The two raised fists and pounded knuckles.

"Oh? Is that so? What about that guy?" He pointed to an older gentleman, strutting down the street and tossing the wrapper from his snack onto the ground. "Littering. Or her-" Lanes of zommer traffic passed idly below along one of the major roads, and from their guard post above the buildings, they could see almost the entire city- at least what wasn't consumed in smog and the evening's haze, or the ever present silhouette of the new Palace. A woman on a zoomer was going much faster than the other drivers, many swerving to avoid being hit as she dove in and out of traffic. "Speeding."

"Petty crap." She shrugged, shouldering her rifle that had been set next to her. "We haven't had a major crime in years."

"Keep taking your job so lightly and the folks up top might notice." Gald then plopped down onto the old chair, his own baton-rifle laid across his lap.

"I'll take my chances. Oh did you hear about Dalma and Runo? They got let go, exiled for bullshit reasons, along with a bunch of other Guards. Somethin' about treason. I say bullshit."

"Wait- Really? Why didn't I hear about this?" Gald suddenly seemed quite taken aback and went ridged.

"Guess being a Commander don't mean squat these days. That whack-job on the throne is even worse than Praxis and his slut of a daughter."

"That 'whack-job' signs your paycheck, Dizz. Might want to pay a little respect." Gald sighed, idly stroking the barrel of his rifle. "Anyways get going. Shift change."

"Ya ya, See ya tomorr-" Before she could finish her words, a fireball rose violently into the air several blocks away as the city's very foundation shook, setting off alarms on zoomers for miles. Then came screaming from below. "What the hell?!"

"I don't know, but sound the alarm!" Gald would've made a grab for the switch himself, but Dizz was closer. She threw herself at the wall, broke the cover and threw the switch up. All across the district, klaxons wailed. Their helmet radios were alive with chatter, most of it incomprehensible through the static and flurry of voices.

"They're calling all nearby reinforcements to Sector 8." Dizz said, as if Gald hadn't possessed his own radio.

"No shit Sherlock, Lets go!"

* * *

><p>Things at street level were completely out of hand. Smoke had filled the streets, making passage nearly impossible by zoomer which caused multiple accidents as the situation escalated. Civilians attempting to flee from the explosions unknowingly trampled those unable to move as quickly. Despite arriving by cruiser, they were forced to park to avoid the congested air space and the lower hover zone wasn't much better.<p>

"What was that about no major crimes?" Gald shouted over the roar of the crowds while barely dodging a frightened woman rushing past, and Dizz shot him an angry glare, which was immediately nullified by her mask.

"Not quite what I meant!"

Another guard in plain unmarked armor was fast approaching from the direction of the explosion. Gald stepped in his way and the man came to a grinding halt. Seeing the red stripes on Gald's armor, the man immediately saluted.

"Commander, Sir!" He said shakily before Gald dismissed him and he dropped the formalities. All around, small fires burned in piles of debris, though the bulk of the damage seemed limited to one area- the remains of a passing fuel-carrier which now laid in pieces all across the intersection. A few human corpses lay amidst the destruction., many charred beyond recognition.

"Mind explaining whats going on, Recruit?"

"Roughly five minutes before the explosion, one of the patrols encountered a woman stealing from a shop. Reports are sketchy- we haven't be able to compile an appropriate description yet!" He said in one breath so quickly that he winded himself.

"Get on that, but do we at least know which direction the assailant fled?" Gald set a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder and he seemed to loosen up some.

"U-Uhh, North, I believe." He flustered, as if his brain couldn't move fast enough. "Yeah, Nor-"

Just then, another plume of fire rose angrily into the sky a quarter of a mile north of their location. It wasn't nearly as massive as the first, but its shock wave still shook the city at its roots. Overhead the sirens still blared, and soon the surrounding sectors sounded theirs until a quarter of the city was placed under alert.

With an authoritative pat on the back, Gald took off in the direction, followed by Dizz and the recruit. They battled against the throngs of people until they came upon the second site. Smoke made visibility difficult, but gunfire rang out as the smoke pulsed reddish yellow with the light from muzzle flashes.

"Standard issue rifle." Gald said under his breath, words amplified by the build in microphone within his helmet. "Whoever the attacker is, they're not firing back."

Suddenly everything fell silent. The screaming civilians were long gone and only the omnipresent howl of the alarms loomed. Then just as quickly as the silence had come, it was broken by a blood curdling scream and the smoke was parted by a flying object. Dizz sidestepped and narrowly avoided being caught by the flying body of a fellow guard. His chest armor had been burned clean through, and he was screaming as his flesh seared.

Then more gunfire, and another scream, but this time like an angry apparition.

"Get back!" The voice screamed. "Or I'll fry all of'ya!"

A gust of wind barreled through the streets, taking with it much of the smoke until finally enough cleared for Gald and Dizz to see the assailant.

Roughly fifty feet away stood a dark skinned woman, half-dressed in scraps of red fabric and leather, with dark knee-high boots and a wide array of unusual jewelry. Her dark hair had been pulled back into dreads, and on one hand she wore a glove with metal claws. The most peculiar feature of all were her short rounded ears.

"Freeze!" Gald shouted, raising his rifle. Dizz and the recruit followed suite.

The woman laughed and grinned a little too wide. "Oooh man I wish Cole was here to see 'dis..." Then fire wicked up her arms as she took slow, even paces forward. "If its a fight you want, then its a fight you get, Bring it!"

With inhuman strength, the woman leaped high into the air.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Angry swamp queen..**

**See you next chapter!**


	5. Only the Beggining

**A/N: First off I'm not entirely happy with the opening portions of this chapter. I tried my best to make Jak and Sake sound ginuinely worried and distraught about what happened to Spargas, without making them come off as overly worried parents like you see in a clinic every time their kid gets a scrape on their knee. Despite my best efforts, they still came off as slightly 'whiney'. My apologies.**

**I do like the ending of this chapter though! Chapter six will be out in a few weeks. As always, PLEASE Read and Review! Comments are greatly appreciated!**

* * *

><p>Cole regarded his glass of water thoughtfully, taking another long swig. It tingled going down, a strange sensation that he could never quite describe if asked. Water normally burned or killed him, yet he still required it to survive, like any other human being. He had long since assumed that drinking it didn't quite yield the same painful effects, just the unusual feeling that tickled his insides.<p>

He had been in this palatial room for a while now, a grand space with waterfalls and exotic plants. A large glass window looking out over the rest of the world had been badly damaged by a sandstorm, or so the 'Sand King' told him.

Jak was an intriguing man. Cole had pinged time and again but no matter how many times he did, the little nodules of yellow always formed within the ghostly blue frame of his abdomen then faded as the ping's energy dispersed. The glow of the Conduit gene seemed stronger within the woman, Sake, pooling in two distinct spots. He'd seen this a few times in New Marais after John had granted him the ability to perceive the world in an entirely new way but he never quite figured out what it meant.

"So what does this mean for our world." Jak's voice carried inside the hollow chamber, bouncing off the walls like an omnipresent deity.

"It means unless I find the RFI, the Beast will destroy everything." Cole now stared at the empty cup. He'd already drank three fills worth but was still inescapably thirsty. Water could never hope to sate his needs at the moment however.

"The RFI.. The device you said that could kill the Beast." The woman, Sake, added, as if repeating what he'd told them just a short while ago would somehow make more sense.

Cole grunted. The headache from starvation was starting to crawl up the back of his head- not the kind caused by lack of eating, but the kind caused by a lack of electrical energy. Between the fight with the Beast in New Marais, the fight here in 'Spargas' as they called it- He was completely drained. He could barely muster an arc in his palms and make it dance without it fizzling with an unceremonious pop. To make it worse, He'd been struggling to explain where he came from, and why there was a two-hundred foot tall molten creature now hiding somewhere within their beloved desert refuge.

He wasn't sure if the couple was just not that smart, or if they just didn't want to accept the destruction that befell their city. It was most certainly the latter, if he put any amount of effort into processing the possibilities.

"The RFI is my only hope for killing the Beast." Cole grunted again, cupping his forehead in his palms. He'd done well enough up until now staving off the piercing pain but it was starting to win.

"And you said you're a Conduit." Jak interjected. Cole winced as the man's words echoed in his head, amplified by the headache and a loud ringing.

"-Before I answer that, there's something I need."

* * *

><p>'Strange' didn't quite define what this man had asked for. Electricity. Thankfully it was something they had on hand since Spargas had gone mostly electric several years prior. Massive wind powered turbines and water turbines along the rivers in the desert provided plenty of power, as well as thermo-generators deep within the belly of the volcano. Spargas now had power, where it did not just a decade before.<p>

Sake and Jak weren't entirely willing to comply to the man's requests- It was an odd request but she assumed it had something to do with whatever a "conduit" was. Back home a conduit was something that helped protect electrical wiring. She also wasn't a stranger to the unbelievable- She and Jak could transform into dark creatures, so it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility that this man could control electricity. So, seeing the man's sad state, and the fact that his skin seemed to pale by the second, She and Jak agreed that perhaps helping Cole was for the best- Since without the 'RFI', they'd all be dead soon anyways according to him and they'd need his help to defeat the 'Beast'.

He explained through gritted teeth that any form of electrical current would work, as long as it was constant. They guided him into the tunnels dug beneath the city to house their own 'conduits', massive tubes which channeled the energy all throughout the city. They watched as he eagerly bent forward to reach the pipes, placed his hands on the surface, and began to perform the amazing.

Spears of blue leaped from the pipes and into his arms, crawling up his body like living, sentient organisms. The already dim lights overhead flickered then went out with a pop and for a moment they were standing in darkness, save for the blight blue flashes of electricity as the cords of power danced.

Finally Cole withdrew his hands from the pipe and the blue flashes winked out of existence. Seconds later the lights overhead winked back on.

"Good thing blackouts are nothing new here." Sake commented, only mildly amazed. Sure, what he was doing should've killed him. Electricity wasn't Blue Eco- It couldn't be safely channeled like it, and it was certainly much more difficult to harness effectively, causing blackouts on a regular basis, but at the end of the day, when most of her time in this world was spent witnessing otherwise impossible things, seeing a man play with lightning quickly lost its luster.

Jak watched as Cole turned to them. Even in the poor lighting, they could already see that color had returned to his skin and the dark rings around his eyes had faded entirely. All in all the man looked as if he was ready to run a marathon.

On their way back to the surface, Sake delved further into what Conduits really were. Cole seemed willing enough to oblige, now that his strength had returned.

* * *

><p>It was a lot to take in, Sake thought while listening to Cole explain his situation for the better part of an hour. Jak was quietly thoughtful as well as he worked to make sense of all of the new information coming in so quickly.<p>

Cole said it had something to do with inheriting a specific gene in the womb, the Conduit gene. And that over time those with the gene would develop unique powers. He said he obtained his powers unnaturally however, when he unknowingly detonated a special kind of bomb. He went on to explain that he had been a bike messenger by career, and that one day, 'a package found him'- A device called the Ray Sphere. It destroyed six square blocks and killed hundreds of people. Everyone, except him.

Sake found the part about him waking up in the middle of a crater wildly ironic.

"To top it all off, the Beast was once a friend of mine, named John. He was caught in the Ray Sphere's blast when it detonated again, and it vaporized him. I didn't know it was him until much later- There's one thing I don't get though." Cole said as he followed the Royal couple up the narrow stone passage. Jak paused briefly to look at the man, wordlessly asking him to continue. "You two were caught in the Beast's blast."

"What about it?" Sake muttered before taking a few more steps while urging the others to follow.

"The Beast's attacks act like a Ray Sphere. He's using his powers to convert the electrical energy from living creatures in the blast radius to activate a Conduit- Or, make existing ones stronger."

"What are you saying?" Jak stopped, turning sharply. Cole found himself transfixed by the almost wild dim violet glow in the King's eyes.

"You're not dead because you're Conduits. I can see the gene, you both have it. If anything the blast should have activated you both, if you weren't already."

Once out of the underground passageways and back on the surface, they made their way back toward the throne room while Cole told more of his story. They wound through the city streets, civilians watching them curiously. But with Jak and Sake at either side of the strange-eared man, no one dared approach. The smoke from the crater still rose in brackish plumes in the distance.

He went on to explain that after the blast, he'd awoken with powers and used them to fight the chaos that had overtaken his city. They had been locked down in quarantine by the military, left to their own devices and the tyrannical rule of gangs and thugs. In time he became a hero to the people, and a fugitive of the law. He met a man named Kessler who warned him about the Beast, said that it was coming but when that day arrived, he wasn't strong enough to defeat it. So he fled. The next time he fought the Beast, he came close to winning except things went very wrong.

"And you woke up here." Sake finished his train of thoughts. Cole nodded wordlessly. Back at the top of the Palace, he could see the crater the Beast had left behind and listened Jak breathed in and sighed deeply, voice carrying a sense of profound loss. He grieved for his people. Sake rested a hand on his shoulder, which he took in both hands. The look on his face was filled with pain, masked by a strong conviction to avenge the fallen.

"I just hope I can find the Beast before it flattens this city or takes any more lives." Cole pursed his lips and flexed his hands subconsciously. Arcs danced like feelers, and it was then he felt the weight of not one, but two worlds relying on him. Things only got worse, because within he was fighting an impossible battle. He knew the real reason the Beast killed- It was saving the handful of people immune to the Plague, a virulent disease that afflicted only those who weren't ascended Conduits like himself, or the pair before him. The question arose- What if this world had only a handful of conduits, or even those able to survive being in the blast? He hoped like hell that Jak and Sake weren't the only two.

* * *

><p>The call arrived around sunup the next morning. As they typically did, both Jak's and Sake's communicators chimed simultaneously to signal an incoming feed. It seemed that far out into the desert, another 'strange eared' man had been found amidst the ruins of Old Spargas by a team of scouts, just after the Marauders blew their buggy to Hell.<p>

Cole nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice on the other end of the line described a portly fellow with dark hair and strange clothes.

"We're on our way, hold him until we get there." Jak closed the device, pocketing it before approaching his throne and picking up his weapons that he had set down earlier. Sake retrieved her own then the pair led Cole down to the city's garage by leaper. Several miles later, a large metal door stood between them and the garage, Cole eagerly climbing from the strange lizard and shaking the saddle-aches from his legs. The gate groaned opened when Jak held up a small metal cylinder with rounded ends.

The garage was filled with all manners of all-terrain vehicles, their solid frames plated with ornate or battered armor while huge tires supported the weight. Every buggy, minus a few, had some kind of firepower, whether it was an RPG, a rocket launcher, machine guns, or some other kind of heavy artillery.

"Going out?" A voice said, young but firm. Cole turned to see a boy, easily no older than twelve standing in the doorway to the actual garage where a buggy sat atop a lift, its engine in hundreds of pieces while a heavy set man cursed loudly from below it as oil spattered all over his bald head.

"Ah Damas. I'd like you to meet someone." Jak said, reaching out and patting the boy on the shoulder as he approached. "Cole, this is my son, Damas. Damas, Cole is the man your mother rescued from the desert."

"A pleasure to meet you." Damas was a wiry boy with sun-kissed skin and eyes so violet that they almost took Cole by surprise. His short hair was a shock of yellow and green that must've matched Jak's when he was younger, mostly combed back but sticking up in places from sweat and dirt. His clothing was caked in oil and grease, gloved hands stained black while various tools hung from a belt around his waist. A quick ping and Cole confirmed that the boy was a conduit- the gene doubly strong since both parents were one. This kid would make one hell of a Conduit if he ever ascended.

"Damas are the buggies ready to go?" Sake arrived moments later, giving the boy a fond smile with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, Mother. Kleiver and I just finished topping all the fluids and refilling the guns with ammo. I loaded yours with explosive rounds this time. I gave Dad armor piercing. Figured it might help with the Marauders." Damas grinned ear to ear as the Sand King tousled the boy's short hair.

"Very good. Go get Daxter, could you?" Jak smiled warmly and watched as the boy sprinted off, tools clanging as he disappeared into the garage, only for a small orange creature to emerge moments later, looking a little displeased and exhausted. "Just up from a nap Dax?"

"Tess and I were up all night trying to calm the kits down. I tell ya, I don't know how you cope with this 'parenting' thing. What I wouldn't give to go back to the old days." The animal groaned, rubbing his neck stiffly before leaping effortlessly onto Jak's shoulder pad. Huh, so that's what that thing was for.

"Then why not come along. Sake and I have to make an errand out into the desert." Jak offered, approaching his buggy which was plated with sheets of metal that curved and accented the body well enough. "Besides I could use you on the gun."

"Cole you're with me." Sake ordered, climbing into her own buggy from the top as it lacked doors. He stared at it nervously.

"I can't ride in cars." He said bluntly. "They tend to explode when I sit in them."

"Then get on the gun." She pointed with a thumb to a massive machine gun set into a pivot. Looking at the rounds, he easily wagered they were forty five or fifty cal. Why they needed such heavy weaponry in a desert was beyond him. Cautiously he placed one hand on the frame, and when nothing exploded, he used the other to heft himself up into the seat on the gun, buckling himself in once settled. Suddenly he felt someone tapping his thigh. Glancing down, he saw Damas.

"You're going to want these. I'm guessing you've never been in the middle of a sandstorm before." Cole took a pair of goggles and a scarf from him, only hesitating for a moment before putting them on. It was then that he noticed everyone else had scarves and goggles too, even the talking animal. Guess it was for the better.

Jak pulled open a hatch, sliding into his buggy before closing it and flicking a switch. His engine roared to life, just as Sake turned the keys to start her buggy. Cole subconsciously winced, waiting for the thing to burst into flames beneath him but it didn't, the engine rolling over and sputtering with an even lope. That was a saving grace.

"Before we go," Cole interjected before they got rolling, "When you found me out in the desert, did I have a double pronged device with me?" Sake nodded. "Could I have that back?" Damas had been standing in the doorway again, watching as the vehicles idled in place.

"Damas, Kleiver still has it right?" She asked after standing and crossing her arms on the frame. Cole took a moment to appreciate her figure, though she wasn't making any attempt to appear attractive at all. He had a thing about strong, independent women- Maybe that was why he loved Trish so much. God he missed that girl..

"Yeah. I'll go get it. He's been trying to figure out what it was for." Damas said, vanishing then seemingly re-materializing from thin air. Cole smiled at the sight of his Amp. "WhatIS this for anyways?"

"I use it to channel my powers." Cole reached down, taking the Amp from Damas before sliding it into its holster. "My buddy Z made it. Calls it the Amp."

"Oh cool, So you're a Channeler?" This Damas kid sure seemed smart, though he had no clue what in the hell a 'Channeler' was.. Cole couldn't help but smile- he was going to like this kid. "Mom and Dad have been teaching me. Not really all that good yet though."

"We're heading out now. You know the drill if the City is attacked, Damas. Don't give Kleiver a hard time!" Sake shouted over her engine while creeping her vehicle closer to the outer gate. Jak followed, revving his engine. Once the gate opened, the pair gunned it and were off, peeling through the desert.

Almost instantly, Cole was thankful for the scarf and goggles. Stiff winds blew the harsh sands around in dense pockets that stung his skin as they sped along, screaming across the dunes and even getting air more than a few times. If it weren't for the five point safety harness, Cole was sure he would've gone flying early on and the thought of getting lost in the desert was an unpleasant one.

"_Eyes sharp, Marauders to the North. Dax, show em how Wastelanders say 'Hello!'_" Came Jak's voice over Sake's dash radio.

"_Got it partner!" _And like that, the barrels atop Jak's buggy spun up before spewing a stream of bullets in the direction of a group of fast approaching car-shaped blurry smudges.. Half a second later, rounds pelted their own vehicles as the Marauders returned fire.

"Cole, what are you waiting for?! Take out those vehicles before they rip through our armor!" Sake ordered, like he was somehow the only person standing between them and a painful fiery death. So, he took hold of the controls and mashed in the buttons. The sound was enough to make him almost deaf, but the intense heat the barrels gave off was stifling. A fraction of a second later, the volleys of machine gun fire hammered into the group of Marauder vehicles as they jogged to the west, hoping to outrun their fire. However as each bullet made impact, it burst into a miniature fireball, the rounds that hit the cars causing them to catch fire.

In total there were four vehicles. Each was small, nimble and lightly plated. They were agile, able to dodge most of his fire despite the sand having the consistency of snot. A scouting party, most likely.

"_Concentrate fire on the rear car."_ Jak directed. The rear-most car had been the one that Cole managed to catch on fire. As if they had planned it, both he and Daxter hammered the controls and doused the Marauder's buggy in bullets. The armor piercing rounds made short work of the flimsy rusted sheets of armor, ripping it away like paper mache while the explosive rounds hammered into the now-exposed interior. The gas tank caught fire moments later, the explosion sending the wreckage sky high in a glorious black and orange plume of smoke and flames. Cole grinned through the numbness in his arms because when it got down to it, he had to admit that.. he was having a lot of fun, even if he... really had no idea why they were attacking these 'Marauders'.

After all, Jak and Sake were the good guys... Right? Then that meant that the Marauders would have to be the bad guys.

Cole quickly realized that now was the worst time to have a morality crisis, their buggies suddenly pelted with a steady stream of enemy fire. He flinched as he felt a round whiz by his arm, crimson drooling from the cut moments later before it healed and vanished. Another car was in range, and after a silent affirmation with the orange rat, they opened up the barrels and laid into the Marauder, their hard work rewarded with another impressive black and orange fireball.

The last two cars suddenly diverged, Daxter aiming for one while Cole took the other. Daxter was the first to disable his target, armor piercing rounds slicing through the Marauder's flimsy armor and into the cockpit. The driver died instantly from the high caliber gunshot wounds, the vehicle swerving out of control before rolling wildly and skidding to a stop upside down against a rock.

For Cole, time lurched as he felt the energy surge through his body. All at once he was amazingly aware of his surroundings, the feel of the triggers under his thumbs, the annoying sting of the sand, the bead of sweat rolling down his neck and soaking into his already damp shirt as V's of moisture formed on the front, back and armpits. He could see the driver of the last Marauder car as it sped toward them from the left, head on- a burly individual with marred dark skin and armor that bespoke nothing but primal aggression.

He depressed the triggers, already glowing-hot barrels spinning up before showering the oncoming car in fiery death. The explosion set the vehicle airborne, flying end over end on a direct collision course with their buggy. In the blink of an eye, he unbuckled himself, bracing himself against the frame before focusing an orb of electricity in his hands. With a fraction of a thought, he hurled the orb toward the oncoming wreckage, the orb flattening into a transparent disc then a cone as the Shockwave smashed into the Marauder's undercarriage. The move did the trick, redirecting the burning husk of metal as Sake and Jak laid on their accelerators.

It was bad enough that the fight had gone to shit, and it was even worse, since now that he was stuck in some desert with a bunch of well armed long eared dudes with their thumbs up their asses.

Prior to his imprisonment with these goons, Zeke had found himself dumped into the too-warm waters of an ocean bordering a vast sea of sand. The only distinguishable landmark was a mountain top that must've been some thirty or forty miles in the distance. Where this place was though was a total mystery, since nothing seemed to fit his limited knowledge of world geography. Plus, he didn't recall Earth having a green sun.

Maybe 'imprisonment' was a bit harsh. He wasn't chained, or in a cage. Instead he was just sitting on a boulder in the shade of a rocky outcropping. They had given him water, which seemed nice enough except for the fact that it tasted like piss. Then again, he'd be lying if he said he preferred his previous situation to this- At least these men, and two women, it seemed, didn't point guns at him- unlike the bunch that had tried to haul him away earlier that day whose smell alone threatened to knock him out cold.

The warm wind blew into shaded cove, carrying with the distant sound of rumbling engines. One of his 'hosts' was on a communicator, and minutes later the source of the throaty sound pulled to a stop. The first thing he noticed was Cole sitting atop a machine gun looking far too pleased with himself, wearing a pair of doofy goggles and a scarf.

"Holy shit, Cole- That you brother?!" Zeke hefted himself up off the rock, running out into the sun as Cole unbuckled the restraints to the gun and hopped down. The two met in the middle, clapping hands together before sharing a brotherly hug.

"Damn Z, you look like hell." Cole grinned. Others looked on while Sake watched from her buggy, sitting atop the frame with one leg up and her arms crossed. This day was just getting weirder.

"Boy do I feel like it. Now uh.. Can someone explain just where the hell we are?" Zeke said through a wet cough as he adjusted his sunglasses, shielding his eyes still with a hand. He could feel his skin practically frying under the intense heat, though it seemed Cole hadn't been spared, his almost clean-shaven head shimmering.

"I'll be happy to tell you on the ride back to Spargas. For now we need to get moving." Zeke turned when he heard a woman speak up, standing on top of her buggy before jumping off. She approached the other individuals who had remained quiet up until then.

"Sorry we had to call Your Highness. Damn Marauders shot up me damned buggy. She's a pile o' shrapnel, probably swallowed by the desert by now I imagine.." said one as he approached her, scratching his head. He was a sandy blond haired fellow, scrawny with plenty of scars and exotic 'tribal' tattoos.

"Load everyone into our buggies then. It'll be a tight fit, but we should make it back." She turned to face a stern faced yellow-green haired man who was staring at the horizon to the north. It was growing dark quickly.

"We better be fast to. Looks like another sandstorm is brewing." The man reached out toward a small orange creature sitting on a big gun, who jumped and cleared the gap easily, landing on the blond's shoulder while one of the Wastelanders climbed onto the back. Zeke was hesitant to climb into either vehicle- Bullet holes were never a good sign. When it came down to it though, he preferred to ride next to a pretty woman than a grizzly guy with his hair in dreadlocks, though the weird spikes on their heads were a bit strange. It kind of resembled a crown. His thoughts were interrupted when Cole slid into a space between the gunner's position and the forward cab while another Wastelander took the gun.

Just then, the woman turned her attention to the sky, arm up with her palm open. "What the hell? Its.. snow..."

"That's impossible. We're in the middle of a desert." Said the scrawny Wastelander on the gun until a crystalline white flake landed on his palm and melted. "Well I'll be damned. Ye don't see that every day.."

"No you don't. Sake, double time it to Spargas. We don't stop for anything. That storm's on a track for Spargas. I'll radio ahead and issue the lock-down." Zeke felt the snow pelting him now too, little pricks of cold amidst the suffocating heat, which by all accounts was physically impossible, unless the snow wasn't made under normal circumstances. He turned to share a silent look with Cole who nodded while stared at the horizon.

Finally, with everyone strapped in, the Jak and Sake threw their buggies into drive and peeled off back toward Spargas, completely unaware of the displaced individual the sandstorm had hurdled to the ground off in the distance.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hope you liked it! Remember to Comment and follow for more updates in the future!**


End file.
